Stan Lawlor

Stan Lawlor (born August 4, 1943) is a Canadian politician and academic, who served as mayor of North Bay, Ontario from 1984 to 1994.[1]

Lawlor was born in St. John's, Newfoundland. He was educated in sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Alberta, Lawlor began teaching at Nipissing University College in 1967. He was first elected to North Bay City Council in 1973, and served as a city councillor until his elevation to the office of mayor, including serving as deputy mayor after 1978. He was appointed mayor in June 1984 following the death in office of Merle Dickerson, and was subsequently elected as mayor in the municipal elections of 1985, 1988 and 1991.

His term in office was marked by initiatives that included the acquisition of the Dionne Quintuplets homestead as a community museum, the creation of a heritage train attraction in the city's Waterfront Park,[2] the launch of "Haleyfest", a Christmas choral concert which still takes place annually in the city,[3] and other economic development initiatives to revitalize the city's downtown and waterfront areas.

During his term as mayor he also ran as an Ontario Liberal Party candidate in Nipissing in the 1990 provincial election, but lost to Mike Harris. He ran for another term as mayor of North Bay in the 2006 municipal election, but was defeated by incumbent mayor Vic Fedeli.[4]

Lawlor retired after teaching for nearly 45 years at Nipissing University. His son Sean Lawlor is also a former North Bay city councillor and deputy mayor.

Since his retirement from Nipissing University, Lawlor has remained active as a consultant throughout Northern Ontario.